


Boys, Bruises, and Babysitting

by salty_mommy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Kageyama Tobio, Babysitting, Beach Volleyball, Children, Cute Kids, Day At The Beach, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Mush, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, KageHina - Freeform, Kageyama Tobio is Bad at Feelings, Kageyama Tobio is a Good Boyfriend, Kageyama Tobio-centric, Karasuno, M/M, Mentioned Sugawara Koushi, Natsu-centric, No Plot/Plotless, No Smut, POV Hinata Natsu, POV Kageyama Tobio, Please Kill Me, Protective Kageyama Tobio, Protective Older Brothers, Romantic Fluff, Summer Love, Summer Romance, Summer Solstice, Summer Vacation, Swimming Pools, Team Mom Sugawara Koushi, Team Parents Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Volleyball, Volleyball Dorks & Nerds, Volleyball Dorks in Love, cannon compliant (kinda), kageyama just wants to get along with his boyfriend's family, reposted from wattpad, this is gonna be a real cute fic i hope
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-24 00:23:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14944127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salty_mommy/pseuds/salty_mommy
Summary: When Hinata Shouyou finally brings Kageyama over to his house for the first time, Kageyama is a bundle of nerves. He is eager to impress and meet up to the Hinatas' expectaions. However, when he meets the youngest in the family, will he obtain the 'Natsu Seal of Approval'?





	1. Firsts, Fists, and Family

The boy practiced smiling in the bathroom mirror once more before sighing and eventually giving up. If he couldn't even smile properly, how could he make a good impression on his boyfriend's family?

He shoved his hands in his pockets and moped back to his classroom to collect his stuff. People in the hallway avoided looking directly at him and skirted to the edges of the path to not get in his way. He slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and thudded his way down the hallway and to the first year's shoe locker area. Hinata was already there to greet him, almost finished with tying his shoes and when a shadow cast itself over his shoulder, instead of being startled or afraid, he simply turned his head and flashed his widest smile. Neither of them said anything until they made it to the bike rack on campus.

Even though Kageyama could walk to school, he chose to ride his bike to school. Kageyama blushed as he and his boyfriend walked their bikes past the open school gates and onto the road before mounting. "Are you ready?" Kageyama was ever so slowly, getting onto his bicycle. "Just follow me!" Hinata grinned.

"That is... If you can catch me!" And then in a stripe of bright orange, the older boy sped off down the street.

"Dumbass Hinata!" Kageyama pedaled furiously after him with tire marks staining the asphalt.

* * *

 

The two boys in disheveled, messy clothing, hair matted with sweat clutched the gate surrounding the middle blocker's house. Kageyama took in the scenery of the house. The average size, the welcoming presence that emanated from it. He even observed the nameplate fastened to the wall encircling the front yard.

"I won!" The ball of energy jeered at his less than perky boyfriend. His breathing was labored and breaths were drawn out with more force than usual.

"Idiot, that's because you take this road every day, twice a day." Surprisingly, his breath was even now, and his tone was smooth and unruptured, like a sheet of satin. On the inside, his heart was beating erratically inside of his ribcage. Kageyama strained to look at himself in the shiny reflective rim of his bicycle tire. Hinata, who had previously been slouching against the fence's wall, picked himself up and dusted off his uniform. Plainly, anyone could tell the anxiety was getting to the setter. His complexion was as white as a sheet, his eyes were dilated, and his breathing was calm and smooth, despite his anxiety. Even though he was through exercising, his heart was pounding with twice the force.

The boy held his hand out to the raven-haired boy. Reassuring him with little words, and treating the matter lightheartedly. He led him through the opened gate to where they could stow their bikes. And Hinata rolled open the front door. "I'm home!" Hinata cheered, slipping off his shoes and handing Kageyama a pair of guest slippers. "P-parf..." He stuttered. "Pardon the intrusion." This earned a silent chuckle from the ginger. A rhythm of rapid, tiny footsteps beat against the flooring. A voice calling for Hinata chimed through the house. And then the footsteps stopped and tiny silhouette paused at the end of the hallway.

 

 


	2. Names, News, and Nii-chan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is Natsu-centric

She stopped calling for her brother. As far as she knew her brother wasn't that tall. Her brother didn't have black hair as dark as pitch, nor eyes as chilling as the fourteen-year-old in front of her. She paused, hesitating. Who was this man? Was he a good man? He wasn't bullying her Nii-chan, was he?

Hinata Natsu didn't know what to say, or how to say it. She could only snap her eyes over to her older brother who was grinning at the boy scrambling to slip out of his shoes and into the guest slippers. He was judged to be a trustworthy person.

Much like a cautious feral animal, the girl tiptoed her way over to the two, sticking closest to the side of the wall where her brother was. Pressing her back to the wall, she waited.

"Ah, Kageyama! This is my sister, Natsu." Hinata introduced the two of them. "Knife to meet you." The boy blushed, confusing his words as if he hasn't had a proper conversation in his entire life.

Somehow, the notion that this boy too, was as nervous, maybe even more so, than she was had given Natsu peace of mind. She smiled, "Nii-chan!" She tackled her older brother, hearing the term 'Kageyama', she recalled all of the stories her brother had told her. "Welcome home!"

* * *

 

After dinner and meeting Hinata's mother, the two first-years were outside practicing volleyball as the sun went down. Mesmerized, the small girl peered around the door at the spectacle.

"Natsu!" Her mother called her. "Tell those boys to come inside, it is getting dark and they will catch a cold."

"Nii-chan, Kage-nii-chan!" Natsu hollered, cupping her tiny hands around her mouth as a makeshift megaphone. "Oka-san said to come inside before you get sick!" The two boys looked at Natsu, then each other, and the dark setter blushed for a moment. Natsu didn't miss that. Turning her back on them, she trotted into the kitchen with the most pleased grin. "I called them in!" Natsu beamed.

"Good girl Natsu, will you help your mother with the dishes while our guest is in the bath?" Her mother patted her on the head gently ruffling her hair before pulling out a step stool.

"Un!" The girl grunted, pulling her sleeves up with determination. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to verify that this book is in the third person. Every chapter it will switch from Kageyama-centric to Natsu-centric. You should be able to tell, I hope it's not too confusing. Any comments or suggestions are most greatly appreciated. Also, these first chapters are really short.


	3. Clean, Cautious, and Contradictory

After being offered the first bath, Kageyama retreated to Hinata's room. Dressed in a pale blue sweatshirt and a pair of baggy black pajama bottoms, the setter got himself settled on top of the futon and leaned against the frame of his boyfriend's bed.

He began to dry his hair with the damp towel previously hung around his shoulders. Nothing else to occupy his time while his spiker bathed, Kageyama went over the day's events. He had successfully (well, successfully enough) greeted his boyfriend's family. He was currently spending the night with Hinata. Sooner or later Hinata would come back from the shower and....

' _But then what_?' Kageyama thought.

It was not the first time he was spending the night with Hinata. There had been training camps where his team had all stayed in a room together. However, this was their first time sleeping alone together. As can be expected, his thoughts trailed down the pathway to the dirty side of town.

His pupils dilated and he ceased his motions. ' _What are we going to do, that_?' He shook his head, which was still shrouded in a towel. ' _No way, no way! After all, his family is here. That would be too careless_.' These thoughts were only the calm before the storm.

* * *

 Night had fallen and his boyfriend returned from his bath and closed his bedroom door behind himself. Now Kageyama observed Hinata fresh out of the shower. With his toned arms folded over his narrow frame. With that cute little pout and a protesting whine, calling his name. The boy inquiring as to why Kageyama wasn't sharing a bed with him. Hinata huffing and saying: ' _b-because we are a couple_ ' when Kageyama responded with a sputtered ' _what'._

Now Hinata was in front of his face, inching closer, he could see the redhead's warm eyes narrowing with every fraction of a centimeter he got closer. He too could feel his eyes sagging to a restful close. It was just the two of them, Hinata Shouyo and Kageyama Tobio, King and Peasant, Setter and Spiker. All of the world previously around them had faded to black and all of the distinct features melted into an indiscriminate pool, like candle wax. If you asked either of them any question, they wouldn't be capable of responding. For the pair had left the entirety of their existence in the past and dwelled in the hasty plumes of breath retracting in and out. Intermingling and exchanging places, their moment had lain in the boundary crossing before lips touched lips.


	4. Tangles, Tiaras, and Toenails

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will refer to both Natsu and Shouyou by their given names in the third person unless they are being addressed by someone since they are both 'Hinata'.

Natsu tiptoed into the hallway just outside of her brother's room. She had been turned loose after her bath and was curious to see how their guest was getting along.

The girl observed Kageyama sitting on the futon, tugging the towel over his head and a vivid blush splashed across his face. She shifted the nail polish and hair baubles from one hand to another. Curiously, she tiptoed up to him and waved one of her hands in front of his faraway gaze. The fourteen-year-old snapped back from his delusion. Startled, he nearly let out an uncool growl at the young girl.

She grinned wildly from ear to ear. "Kageyama-nii-chan!" She warbled. After thoroughly frightening the highschooler, she had his undivided attention. "Let's play dress up!"

* * *

 

 The door swung open and an oblivious Shouyo entered his bedroom to find his boyfriend not maintaining his fingernails with a file as he usually does, but with his younger sibling applying coats of clear topcoat to his orange and royal blue to his digits.

His fringe was gathered in a feathery tuft on top of his head with a sparkly star hair tie. He was blowing on his left hand while his right was in the custody of aspiring cosmetologist Natsu.

Shouyo noticed she wasn't as rigid around him as he had been before. Normally children and animals didn't like Kageyama, and he expected Natsu to be the same. Surprisingly, Kageyama intently listened and earnestly responded to all of Natsu's babbling nonsense. He seemed genuinely interested in what the elementary-schooler was discussing.

For a while, Shouyou leaned against the doorframe, unnoticed, watching his significant other interact with his sister. Not that he would say it out loud, but he found the way Kageyama interacted with Natsu very cute. When Natsu caught a glimpse of her brother observing the spectacle, the ginger-haired child beamed and cooed her brother's title. "Kageyama-nii-chan is beautifuler now!" The child chirped.

Natsu's older brother hummed in approval. When looking at a blushing Kageyama, hiding his mouth with a motley hand, he grinned in a fashion similar to his sister.

The girl yawned and rubbed her eye with her fist still curled around a bottle of nail polish. "Nii-chan, I want to sleep in here." Her voice was laden with fatigue.

"Natsu, there isn't enough room for your futon with all three of us in here." There was a slight warning tone mixed with the tone of voice used only when explaining to a child.

"But Nii-chan, Natsu wants to sleep in _here_!" The manner in which she spoke was slow and intoxicated with drowsiness.

"Okay..." Her older brother sighed and reluctantly responded. "You can sleep in my bed with me." The boy stepped over the guest futon and patted an area of his bed.

"No~!" Natsu cried groggily, "I want to sleep with Kageyama-nii-chan!" Protesting by tugging on Kageyama's tee shirt and pulling herself to his chest. This caused the dark-haired boy to raise his arms above his head in shock, not unlike a petrified cat.

"Natsu, don't harass Kageyama." Shouyo scolded in his best mother voice.

"Kageyama-nii-chan!" She wailed with sloppy annunciation. Her face was buried into Kageyama's ribs. Kageyama let out a sharp howl of pain before toppling over onto his back. Natsu began snoring softly and was already into a deep sleep. Shouyo sighed and looked over at his boyfriend, frozen with shock. "Sorry 'bout this."

Kageyama hesitated, "..Yeah... It's.. fine."


	5. Mornings, Messy, and Milk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast in the Hinata Household

Kageyama couldn't breathe right when he woke up. There was a weight on his neck and chest. His left leg was cold and his right leg was feverishly warm. His scalp felt tight and sore.

He first pried the arm off his throat, dropping the dead weight back on top of it's owner. The setter took this opportunity to crane he neck up and see nearly all of Natsu's body draped over his torso, and Shouyo had somehow entangled nearly his entire body around Kageyama's leg.

His stirring caused his boyfriend to wake up. "Mmmmmn~." Shouyo groaned. Normally, Kageyama would want to to cherish the cute noises and faces his significant other was making, but his leg was asleep so he kicked the petit boy off of his leg and sat upright. "What the heck Bakeyama~!" He whined, voice thick with sleep.

Natsu had a tighter grip than Kageyama had anticipated. Her small fists full with his jumper, like a cat clawing a curitan. Obviously not wanting any actual harm to come to the younger Hinata, he cradled the girl so she had comfortable seat in the crook of his elbow. Carrying the elementary schooler, he stood up. Hairband still in place of a topknot, and his usual glare, he looked bizarre, at the very least.

Shouyo sat up on his knees and looked up to his partner and his eyes grew wide, then curved into sly slits. He clasped his hand over his mouth to muffle a playful laugh. "Your hair is standing straight up!" He commented, unable to contain his amusement.

Blushing, the black-haired setter snarled at him."Shut up, dumbass Hinata!" His eyes narrowed and his face got really animated. "I don't want to hear that from you; look in the mirror. Don't talk when your bedhead is that bad!" Defensively, the spiker placed his hands on top of his hair.

Kageyama, as well, place a free hand on his head and attempted to loosen the sparkly hair bauble from his bound hair. Much to his dismay the task was nearly impossible, the more he tugged the elastic, the tighter it tugged on his roots. It was like the Chinese fingertraps that snack brands used to promote their cereal. There was no way to escape.

His balance was thrown off kilter when the smaller girl began to wake up (probably due to the lover's quarrel). His decision to abandon his imprisoned hair and focus on supporting her saved the groggy child from landing head-first onto the tatami mats. "Kageyama-nii-chan?" She yawned, one hand still gripping the sweatshirt tightly, the other flicking the sleep from her half-awake eyes. "Good morning."

"...Uh...um... Yeah.." He tripped over his response. Shouyo smiled at the display, how precious Kageyama looked when he was tending to his younger sibling.

* * *

 

 The three of them washed up and were dressed in time for breakfast. Kageyama was still unable to undo the elastic securing his topknot, so Natsu was situated sitting on his shoulders, ruffling her stubby fingers through the dark setter's hair.

"Good morning" the Hinatas' mother called.

"Good morning." The trio of children chorused back to her. She smiled gently, beaming at the way her son's boyfriend was getting along swimmingly with both her son and daughter.

"You all look like you slept well." The woman had already prepared the table and beckoned for the kids to take their places.

"Thanks for the food!" They chanted. Digging in, the boys had already begun competing this early in the morning. Shoveling down food faster than humanly possible: rice flew, chopsticks clinked against the bowls; all the girls could do was watch. Agape, the woman came to her senses and mustered her best mother voice to reprimand the two teenagers.

Everyone else at the table had a glass of cool water to go with their morning meal, Kageyama alone had a nice tall glass of chilled milk. Shouyou had apparently notified his mother about his boyfriend's love for the beverage.

The setter eyed the opaque, white cow juice before sending his eyes in a ring around the table at the host family's drinks. He wasn't quite sure if the milk was actually for him. His eyes met Shoyou's briefly, then back to the glass, then Shoyou's again. The ginger boy looked at the glass in confusion. He looked back at Kageyama who nodded his head before throwing his gaze back to the glass.

The tiny spiker nodded, realizing Kageyama had asked permission to drink the milk. Their conversation needed no words. They had learned to fight on the court with body language alone. As such, it wasn't all that uncommon for the duo to have full-on discussions without even opening their mouths to speak. To them, this was normal.

However, to Shouyo's mother and Natsu, this was anything but. They watched as the high schoolers had a conversation about lord-knows-what with nothing more than eye contact. The spectacle, which carried on far longer than expected, but not as long as one would think.

"Nii-chan is actually quiet for once." Natsu whispered, breaking the silence as Kageyama reached for the glass of milk.


	6. Waiting, Weather, and Wondering

Natsu didn't know when the next time she would see Kageyama Tobio would be. Every evening just before suppertime,and shortly before her brother was due to return, she would sit by the shoe cubbies. Swinging her feet over the ledge, she eagerly sat up straight and awaited her brother's arrival.

Every time Shouyo came home alone, Natsu would be visibly upset and mope for a while. She began to cling to her older brother less,and all together; she was less lively. She didn't whine and sulk when her brother wouldn't play with her, she stopped asking to sleep in her brother's room, and she looked rather sullen when Shouyo returned home alone.

This was not all that concerning, that was, until she started eating less and less. The normally ravenous child pushed the food around on her plate and went to bed with a barely filled tummy. Her mother began to worry, which caused her brother to worry. Without knowing the cause, they didn't have a solution. Days passed, and summer got hotter; she didn't improve. Shouyo brought Kageyama over, once again, for dinner.

Fat raindrops plopped onto the pavement. Pregnant clouds grumbled and belched on the horizon. Kageyama and Hinata entered the house after parking their bicycles. Surprisingly, little footsteps didn't patter cheerfully on the hallway. A slow, plodding gait sounded instead. Only a muted 'welcome back' as a greeting before they were even seen.

Kageyama changed his shoes before wandering towards the kitchen and giving his regards to his boyfriend's mother. A small orange ball flashed down the hall with bounding thumps. Suddenly, he was painfully knocked off his feet and onto the floor.

"Kageyama-nii-chan!" Natsu screeched, nuzzling her face into the boy's chest.

* * *

 

 Dinner rolled by with belching thunderclouds. Natsu wasn't scared, she clung to Kageyama like he was the safest place in the world. And to her, it really was.

"Kageyama-kun," Their mother called, walking into the family room, "I'm afraid there's a typhoon out there, it isn't safe for you to go home in this storm."

"I guess that means you're staying over, huh?" Shouyo commented smoothly before realizing what that meant and turning as bright as his hair.

"I'll make up the futon for you, make sure to call home." The woman declared with a knowing smile, leaving her son and his lover in the care of the youngest in her brood. 

* * *

"Kageyama-nii-chan can play dress-up again!"

Natsu was already halfway finished with putting curlers in the setter's hair when Shouyo walked in.

His boyfriend sat there on the floor of his room in a white tee-shirt under a cream sundress with mint and rose sprigs on it. It was far beyond zipping up. Kageyama had bright cheeks and a string of pastel yellow costume pearls.

"Nii-chan, isn't he beautiful!?" The child beamed with an innocent grin.

A string of over-the-top laughter rang through the room. "Very." The first-year managed to sputter between his sharp breathing and fit of giggles.

His hysteria ceased when he caught a glimpse of his boyfriend in drag glaring at him. In that moment, he knew he had made a huge mistake.

* * *

 That night Shouyo tossed and turned miserably in his bed without a kiss goodnight.

"Kageyama," the middle blocker grumbled, leaning over the side of the bed, "I said I was sorry."

No response.

"C'mon Kageyama, it was funny! Right!?"

The genius setter only shifted over to his side and stared up at his partner with a dead stare.

"Y-you-'re scaring me! Eh-uh, what can I do to make it up to you?" His voice became hurried and excited. "I'll do anything you want, anything at all!"

"...su" Barely audible, but with Shouyou's animalistic senses, he could have sworn he heard the faintest response.

"What?"

"A kiss..." Kageyama pulled the covers over his ruddy cheeks.

"That's it?" His boyfriend asked, shocked that the raven-haired boy wasn't as angry as he had anticipated.

"You know what, nevermind." The setter said bitterly just before rolling himself up into the futon like a pouty burrito. "Good night." He added with a disappointed tone in his voice.

"No!" Shouyo lunged for his boyfriend but flopped off his bed and onto the bare tatami mat floor.

"What are you doing, Hinata-boke!?"

"Kiss~." He cooed, inching his way over to Kageyama's face and planting his lips on top of Kageyama's. Shouyo was a sloppy kisser with the best intentions, still something he had to work on, but Kageyama was secretly glad to be the one to teach him. They pulled away after a solid half of a minute of open-mouthed kissing.

His cheeks were flaming and his heart was beating fast, he only meant for a sweet peck on the cheek. Not that he was complaining though.

"Happy?" He asked, proud of himself.

"Go to bed, dumbass." Kageyama huffed, wrapping his boyfriend in the futon with him and drifting to sleep while holding his small boyfriend in his arms.


	7. Splash, Suncream, and Sunflowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio decide to head to the pool on a day off. FEATURING THE HOTTEST UNCLE IN THE SERIES

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about how long it has taken me to write this, it's hard since i don't have anyone to bounce ideas off of. however, i wanted to make sure i updated a chapter before my sat tutoring began, so here we go!

Natsu was on the verge of a tantrum. She gripped her sun hat in her tiny hands and waved it out in front of her. Her older brother was trying desperately to negotiate with her. "Mom wouldn't be very happy if you don't wear sunscreen!"

  
"I don't care!" She protested, pouting. Her orange hair was tied up in wild little pigtails and she refused to put on her sun hat. It was rather embarrassing for her to be causing such a scene, especially on the bus where there was a captive audience. Kageyama gave that silent but triumphant look that said 'let me take care of this' and squatted down to the girls level.

  
"Natsu-chan, if you don't wear sunscreen your skin will become red and peel off." This startled Natsu and tears pooled in her eyes. She busted out into shrill, sharp cries.  
Natsu did not want to put on the sun cream, but she also did _not_ want her skin to fall off.  
During her episode, Shouyou stood awestruck as Kageyama took this opportunity to grab the sunscreen and stealthily slather it on while the girl had her eyes shut. She imagined it was her skin peeling off and rubbing away.

  
"Now what do we do?" Shouyou hissed as his boyfriend slipped the tube of sunscreen back into his bag. Natsu was rightfully terrified. Skin cancer is no joke. But she hated the slimy sunscreen and the smell that came with it.

  
Seemingly out of nowhere, a princely figure appeared, bending down on one knee and began to soothe her. A boy, roughly around her age, stood behind him with a volleyball under his arm and a vacant stare on his face. "Ojou-chan, don't cry." The handsome man gave an assuring smile. "There's nothing to worry about," He began, "your name means sunflower".  
Natsu pulled her balled-up fists away from her face an sniffed. "And just like your name," he continued, "you are a flower that thrives beneath the sun". He flashed her a wonderful smile that infected her, not only showing up on her face but also warming her up inside. Kageyama tensed up, and Shouyou was mute with astonishment.  
"Oh," the handsome man said as if he were just realizing that the two of them were there, " good morning Tobio-chan, Chibi-chan". Kageyama clucked his tongue in disapproval while his boyfriend began asking a variety of questions far too fast for the man to answer.

  
"Hey, hey!" The unamused boy called out, "isn't that the guy you took a picture of?" He was now sitting on the seat next to Natsu. The three older boys had their hands on the hanging handles coming from the ceiling, except Shouyou, who was holding onto to a pole. Kageyama's face heated slightly at the memory. Him bowing his head to Oikawa.  
However, Oikawa was far too busy carrying on a polite conversation with Shouyou. "Yes, this is my nephew, Takeru." He introduced, gesturing to the bored child. "Where are you two off to?" He gave a different smile, one without the comforting warmth, but with a sultry heat of patronization.

"None of y-!" Kageyama began but he was cut off by a cheery voice.  
"Nii-chan and Kage-nii-chan are taking me to the pool!" Natsu sang, pointing out the window towards the facility.  
"Well what a coincidence," the seijou setter said as he shifted his bag more comfortably across his shoulder, "that's where we were are heading too".

* * *

 

Natsu and Takeru played in the pool, but only when Oikawa was with them. At first, Shouyou was hesitant, but there really wasn't much harm in it. Their seats were close enough so he could dive in if something happened, and lifeguards were posted on both sides of the pool. Kageyama, on the other hand, still felt uneasy. While he did not think Oikawa was capable or even remotely interested in harming a small child, he couldn't say he was completely at ease with the idea of letting his borderline narcissistic former captain babysit his boyfriend's sister.

Oikawa’s nephew had made friends with some of the other boys his age without inviting Natsu. She sat on the edge of the pool and splashed her legs in the water before making a decisive plop. Oikawa was leaned against the wall of the pool nonchalantly, sunglasses on and a few girls around him cooing over both him and Natsu as she bobbed in the water.

"Kage-nii-chan!" Natsu cried from the shallow end of the pool, "carry me to the deep end!"

Now Natsu was a fairly good swimmer, she didn't even need those arm floaties like other kids did. She was a big girl. However, she was not a big enough girl to go to the deep end on her own.

She held onto the ledge around the pool and watched as Kageyama reached over to her brother, and brushed some curls out of his sleeping face (which sprung back to their original placement almost immediately) before covering the smaller boy with a beach towel so he wouldn’t get sunburnt. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. She watched him take off his shirt and her bright eyes followed him as he walked the steps into the shallow end of the pool without flinching.

“Nice of you to join us, Tobio-chan.” Oikawa said before turning back to the girls.

“Yeah.” He grunted, opening his arms for Natsu to climb onto him. The girls stiffened abit at this cold-looking boy.

“Kage-nii-chan!” Natsu warbled, paddling over to Kageyama’s arms. A large, soft smile spread across his face.

The girls swooned before diverting their attention, once again, to Oikawa.

Once she was situated, Kageyama walked towards the deep end. “Onwards, horsie!” She ordered, pointing to the direction of the deep end.

“Nii-chan isn’t tall enough to take me into the deep end.” She remarked, wrapping her arm back around him.

Kageyama chuckled a bit. “He’s not that short.”

“I am glad I am a girl because it’s cute for us to be short!” Natsu declared triumphantly.

Kageyama continued into the deep end, not even thinking when he said, “I think it looks cute on him.”

His face turned beet red once realized what he had said, and to his boyfriend’s little sister, no less.

“You really like my nii-chan, don’t you?” She asked, giggling. Natsu didn’t wait for his response before saying “I like him too.”

 

* * *

 

“So you and the shrimp?” Oikawa asked when Shouyou went over to the concession stand to buy ice cream for the kids.

Kageyama sat in the deck chair with Natsu swaddled in a towel on his knee. Natsu watched his face turn into a scowl.

“So how long has it been?” Oikawa asked with the air of a gossiping middle schooler.

Natsu didn’t understand why Kageyama wouldn’t just tell Oikawa how long they had been together. Then again, Natsu was a child and only had a blurry idea of what a relationship was.

“What a cold glare~!” Oikawa whined halfheartedly, “There’s no shame in loving who you love, you know.”

Natsu snuggled closer to Kageyama and leaned onto his chest.

“I am not ashamed, you just have no reason to know the ins and outs of my love life.” The first-year muttered.

“So you admit you love him!” Oikawa grinned madly.

“Well, are you gonna admit you like Iwaizumi-senpai?” Kageyama retorted.

Oikawa sputtered, much to Kageyama’s delight.

“I like Iwa-chan?” The third-year laughed nervously? “How do you figure?”

“He may have failed literature, but even Hinata can read between those lines.” Kageyama laughed.  
Natsu became confused. “But there is nothing between lines?”

“Ha!” Oikawa exclaimed triumphantly, “It’s just as the girl says, there is _nothing_ between us.”

“Yeah, that’s because you two are normally so close, you don’t even leave room for Jesus.” Takeru butted in, offering an ice pop for Natsu.

 

* * *

 

The trio were the last on the bus. Oikawa and his nephew had long been dropped off at their stop. Natsu felt like the day had been dragging on forever, yet it was ending far too quickly.

Once again she was curled up on Kageyama’s back, snugly secured by his arm as he bounced off the bus. She watched the sun dip down the horizon as her brother and his lover made their way back to her house, where they would all surely snuggle up and fall asleep together later that evening.


	8. Playmates, Parties, and Princesses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First update in forever! I don't have too many ideas left for this book, so if you do, feel free to coment and leave some ideas, or you can always dm me on insta @angry_ava.

Kageyama shifted a bit uncomfortably, his palms were clammy and the wrapped box began to slip out of his hands. He balanced the brightly colored box between his hip and his arm before knocking on the door. 

“Hello, Kageyama-kun.” Natsu’s mother greeted with a smile. “Please come in.” She opened the door wider and stepped aside for him.

“Pardon the intrusion.” 

“I can take that,” the woman said as she received the present. “The kids are in the family room.” With that, she whisked it off to some other room. 

The first-year wiped his palms off on his pants and made his way to the family room that was all decorated with streamers and banners of crudely drawn, but cute crow doodles. 

There were four children (and Shouyou) seated in a circle on the middle of the floor. 

“Duck.” Nastu tapped a child on the head. “Duck,” she moved to the next person. “Duck…” 

She looked up at Kageyama and yelled “Goose!” before launching herself into his arms. Fortunately, this had become reflex and he caught her easily. 

“Happy birthday, Natsu-chan.” The boy chuckled as he swung her around in circles. 

“Hinata, that’s not how you play duck, duck, goose!” A young boy whined, standing up from his place on the floor

“Ah, Kageyama!” Shouyou whipped his head around. 

The high schooler set his surrogate sister on the ground and smiled at his boyfriend. “You seem awfully happy today,” Shouyou commented, leading him to the kitchen, just out of view of the children. 

“Yeah I started smiling but now my face is cramping.” Kageyama massaged his jaw. 

“Idiot,” Shouyou giggled, ”you need to loosen up.” 

The shorter boy went up on his tiptoes and pecked a kiss dangerously close to the corner of his boyfriend’s mouth. 

“ They’re only children.” 

“Maybe it’s different for you because you resemble them so much,” Kageyama smirked, pushing back the hair off of Shouyou’s forehead and planting a kiss.

“Don’t say something so mean and then kiss me!” Shouyou whined in protest, the tops of his ears were pink. “Idiot!” Still, the smaller boy made no attempts to wriggle away. 

They just stood there, leaning against the kitchen cabinets wrapped up together, listening to children laughing and running about in the other room. 

“Ehem.” Someone interrupted. The two broke apart and looked over to the origin of the disturbance. Shouyou’s mother stood with a small, deflated vinyl pool and a pump. 

“Shouyou,” she asked, “would you please fill up the pool to chill the watermelon?” 

Shouyou, understandably, was embarrassed and stuttered a ‘yes’ before snatching the pool and pump from his mother. 

Left alone, but standing up perfectly straight in front of the kitchen cabinets, was Kageyama. Shouyou’s mother made her way to the refrigerator with no facial expression whatsoever. “Kageyama-kun,” she began, “could you get the cutting board out of the drawer for me?”

“Uh…” He was taken back a bit. “Yes.” He spun around and rummaged around in pursuit of the drawers before finding the drawer with the cutting board in it. 

The mother waited patiently, drying off strawberries and plucking off the leaves. She thanked him and began carving a circle around the stem to remove it. “I have never heard Shouyou quiet like that before” she commented, handing Kageyama a knife and placing the strawberries on the cutting board. “Something about him changes when you’re around.” 

She put a handful of strawberries on the cutting board before turning to him once more. “Please take care of him.” 

“Yes.” He responded. He continued to slice the strawberries.

“Kage-nii-chan!” Natsu called, feet thundering after her also crying out ‘nii-chan’.

The children flocked around him as if he were mother goose. “Let’s play!” Natsu cheered. 

Soon enough, all of them were outside in the yard, running around playing tag. After a while, a few of the boys decided it was unfair that Kageyama could run so fast, so they ran after him in packs of two or three at a time. 

“I am tired of this,” declared one of the little boys, putting his hands on his hips.  
“What should we play next?” another asked.

Everyone looked to Natsu. “Let’s play dragons and princesses!” The children squealed in delight.

“You,” said the little boy, pointing at Kageyama, “are going to be the dragon!” He pointed to himself now “I am going to be the prince!” 

Kageyama had no idea what this game entailed, but if he had known earlier, he would have adamantly refused. “On me,” called the boy playing as the prince, “charge!” He gestured with a stick and all of the other boys and some of the brave and knightly girls ran and tackled Kageyama. A few of them had short twigs that they were smacking him in the calves. 

At first, he didn’t fall, but the poor guy had four elementary schoolers swinging off his limbs and pulling at his hair. There was nothing for him to do but lay there in defeat. 

“No, no, no!” the prince exclaimed. “You’re supposed to be a dragon, you're supposed to be really hard to defeat!” The other little boys paused for a moment and stopped tugging on his arms and hair to listen. “You’re supposed to growl and shoot fire!”

Kageyama didn’t see how that was the least bit realistic. The little kids crawled off of him and Kageyama was, once again, on his feet. He hunched his back, brought in his arms, and vocalized an unsure “Grr”. 

“Oh,” the prince said, waving his stick nonchalantly before crossing his arms, “that will do, I guess.” He turned to his friends who had already moved on and started playing tag. “You suck at being a dragon, but I still defeated you, so Hinata-san is mine!”

Kageyama stood straight up and looked down at the aggressive elementary schooler. He was about to respond to the child when Hinata’s mother called out that it was time for cake. 

The rest of the day was overall more mellow. After the children sang Happy Birthday and finished their cake and fresh watermelon, they ran around the backyard and amused themselves by splashing each other in the watermelon chilling pool while they waited for their parents to pick them up. Shouyou and Kageyama sat on the back porch and supervised the kids while they talked. 

“That one boy seems really close to Natsu-chan,” Kageyama observed.

“Yeah,” Shouyou mused, “ he might have a crush on her.” 

Kageyama contemplated this for a second before he slid his hand closer to Shouyou’s.


	9. Pinkies, Promises, and Privacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you just need to set boundaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I haven't updated this in a brick. I swear I have been working on this same chapter for four months. As always, feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Make sure to tell me what you want to see in this story as it is pretty much plotless.

Though neither of them had considered it when they had first started dating, Natsu had become a massive part of Kageyama and Shouyou’s relationship. Every time her older brother came home alone, Natsu would beg Shouyou to call ‘Kage-nii-chan’ over. 

 

_ “Kageyama lives over thirty minutes away,”  _ Shouyou would explain. Natsu would pout and be cross all throughout the rest of the evening. 

 

Shoyou called his boyfriend one particularly troublesome evening in the late summer. School had started up again and between classwork, practices and Natsu’s incessant whining over Kageyama, Shouyou hardly found time to decompress. He took this time while his little sister was having her bath to have a long overdue conversation with Kageyama. 

 

Shouyou hadn’t really been able to talk about anything other than volleyball with his boyfriend in weeks. It was nice, for a while, to have some more common conversations. It was only when Shoyou was starting to feel more relaxed that Natsu burst into the room, demanding to speak to Kageyama. This, of course, resulted in a dispute, which leads to Shoyou hanging up on his boyfriend and locking Natsu out of his bedroom, and Natsu running to their mother in tears. 

 

* * *

 

 

After practice later that week, the two of them sat down at a meal to decide what should be done about Natsu. Both Kageyama and Shouyou loved Natsu very much, no doubt about that, but being around her was becoming stifling. There were no kisses or prolonged cuddling without Natsu’s interference. She was always urging the two of them to play outside or some activity that would further exhaust them after they had already come back from practice. 

 

How could they manage to protect the privacy and intimacy of their relationship while not excluding Natsu? Of course, Natsu was a child and her place in the two’s romance was not all that great. However, her presence in each of their lives was that of a little sister. An adorable yet annoying little sister that didn’t quite comprehend the boundaries of a couple’s privacy. 

 

Shouyou was chowing down on a burger while Kageyma sipped his drink in contemplation. “We haven’t gotten to be alone in so long.” He lamented. 

 

“You can always come over to my place,” Kageyama suggested. 

 

“Mom doesn’t like me staying out during school nights, you know that.” Kageyama looked as if he were carefully considering a myriad of different strategies. 

 

“Well, maybe we should try talking to her?’ Kageyama offered, apprehensive, but trying to be helpful. 

 

Shoyou shrugged his shoulders. “She's being quite stubborn about this, she seems to be really attached to you.” Shoyou scratched his head in frustration. 

 

There was only one person they could turn to now, the man who had all of the answers, Sugawara. 

 

* * *

 

 

_ “Well, I agree with Kageyama that you should try and talk to her.”  _ Sugawara crackled from the other side of the line. Both of the younger boys listened intently to the advice. They were in a quiet place on the street, sitting on the bench under the shelter of the bus stop enclosure. It was dark and had started to drizzle a bit. 

 

_ “Maybe you should try to explain to her that your goal isn’t to completely extricate her from your relationship, but that you guys need alone time as well as Natsu time.”  _ Sugawara pondered.  _ “I think if you set those boundaries and explain it well, you can find a good balance.”  _

 

“How do we do that?” Shoyou asked, twisting his hands in his lap. 

 

“ _ Let’s say you make a compromise.”  _ Sugawara paused briefly to collect his thoughts.  _ “How about you promise that if Natsu-chan is on her best behavior, that Kageyama will come over once every few weeks or something?”   _

 

Shoyou nodded his head. “That could work.” He looked at his boyfriend and they both nodded at each other in agreement. 

 

“Thanks, Sugawara-senpai.” Shoyou said.

 

_ “Anytime,” _ Sugawara crackled before hanging up. 

 

It was two boys in the silence of the rain beating on the bus stop eclosure. Shoyou called his mother to tell her he would be on his way home, but she told him that he’d better not ride his bike all the way home just to catch a cold and miss school the next day.  So they headed over to Kageyama’s house. 

 

Shoyou and Kageyama bathed and got ready for bed. By the time they were under the covers and snuggled together, they were too tired to do much else than give a sloppy kiss goodnight and fall fast asleep. 

 

* * *

 

The next day was a Friday and they had decided that was the day that the two of them would confront Natsu about giving them a little privacy from time to time. It was after practice and both of them raced on their bikes for the thirty-minute ride to Shoyou’s house. They arrived sweatily and out of breath, they were squabbling over which one of them had arrived at the front gate first.

 

They entered the house and were met by those tiny rumbling footsteps racing down the hall to greet them. “Kage-nii-chan!” Natsu cried, latching herself onto the sweaty high schooler before he even had the chance to remove his left shoe. He choked out a startled noise as the elementary schooler swung herself from his arms. “Welcome home!” She warbled.

 

“Natsu, come set the table please.” Her mother crooned from the kitchen. 

 

Natsu whined a bit in protest, still, she hurried along to the kitchen, quickly forgetting her distress when she smelt the alluring aroma of chicken and fried rice. Kageyama and Shoyou placed their stuff on the floor in Shoyou’s room and sat on the bed, discussing their plan before being called for supper. They savored the moment, holding hands and Kageyama rubbing his thumb over Shoyou’s hand in a soothing, reassuring manner. Shoyou leaned his head onto Kageyama’s shoulder, sighing. Their breathing and heartbeats synchronized. They were peaceful, despite the particular worry that occupied them. Their eyes slid closed after a while and it led them to believe, rather foolishly, that they could have a nice nap and capture a bit of rest. 

 

Natsu entered the darkened room, a sliver of light cutting through the dark from the threshold. The two boys were slumped together on the bed, so close to drifting off into a peaceful slumber. She tiptoed in, saw both of their hands entwined and almost felt bad about what she had to do next.

“It’s time to wake up, nii-chan, Kage-nii-chan!” She called, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify the sound. 

 

The two boys shuddered, so startled they nearly fell off the bed, taking Natsu with them. “Natsu, what the heck?!” Shouyou cried. 

 

“Mother says it’s time for dinner, so it’s time to wake up!” Natsu chirped. 

 

“Why’d you enter the room without knocking?” Shoyou asked. “It’s not polite,” he added in a scolding tone.

 

Natsu cocked her head to the side like a puppy confused at a new noise. “I came to come get you?” 

 

“Listen, Natsu, next time you enter, please knock,” Shoyou lectured.

 

“Why?” She asked, pouting slightly. 

 

“Sometimes when people start dating..., they need some alone time,” Shoyou explained slowly. 

 

“That’s no fair, nii-chan! You spend time with him at school and now I can’t spend time with him at home when he comes over?” Natsu whined. 

 

Kageyama took one of her small, shivering hands in his. “We will always make time for you.” Shoyou looked at Kageyama, a bit astonished and proud. He never thought the day would come where he would be able to talk this easily. His awkward blueberry of a boyfriend was growing up. 

 

“Really?” She sniffed.

 

“You’re our favorite girl, after all?” Kageyama gave a reassuring smile. 

 

“Promise?” She held out her pinky. 

 

“Promise.” 

 

“Yubikiri genman, uso tsuitara hari senbon nomasu.” They chanted together bouncing their hands. 

 

“Sealed with a kiss!” Natsu giggled as she pressed her thumb to his. 

 

“Now let’s go eat dinner!” Shouyou grinned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Japanese pinky promises are hardcore af. “Yubikiri genman, uso tsuitara hari senbon nomasu.” basically is " if you lie you have to swallow a thousand needles". I don't know about ya'll but that level of commitment is scary.


End file.
